Super Bowl Week- Post 2 (Stuffed Football Toy!)

This weekend is not only the Super Bowl, it is also the birthday celebration of a sweet little boy who is turning one year old!  He is the son of our close friends, and we are so excited to be celebrating this milestone with them.
His party theme is of course football, I mean, how could they NOT do that theme with the Super Bowl being in our own city this weekend?  He also was dressed as an injured Peyton Manning (complete with neck brace) for Halloween.  What a cutie!
So, along with his other birthday gifts I whipped up this toy football using a few scraps, some stuffing, and embroidery floss.

To get started, print off this FREE pattern for the football panels. If you want a larger or smaller football, just use the general shape, or you could mess with your printer settings to shrink or enlarge my pattern.

Cut out four pieces from your fabric.  I used a heavy home-dec weight fabric, but you can really use whatever you have on hand that is sturdy.

I varied the direction I cut mine out since it had stripes- this gives it extra visual/textural interest.

Then, begin sewing your panels together.  Take your first two pieces and put the pointy ends right side together.  Use as close of a seam as you can!!!  I also used a double stitch instead of a plain straight stitch to make this more durable. (DESIGN NOTE- if this is for a tiny baby, you could add "taggies" if you want.  Just stick them in between the seams and pin!)

Very close seam- see how its inside the edge of the presser foot?

Reinforced stitch!

After you sew the first two panels together, turn it right side out so you can carefully lay down the third.  Be sure the points are all sew over as we don't want a hole in the tip of the football!

Adding third panel- right sides together!

Third panel attached!  Starting to really look like a football!

Now simply add your fourth panel.  Then you have all four panels and one side open.  Turn the entire football inside out and line up the open ends right sides together.  Sew them, but leave a hole in the middle (about 2 inches) for turning/stuffing.

Inside out- carefully sew the last home together!  Don't forget to leave an opening!

Now you need to turn it right side out and stuff.  Be generous because you want the football to be relatively firm.  (DESIGN NOTE- if you want to make it more interactive, you could add some crinkly sounding plastic, bells, etc. inside.  Stuff them into the very middle though so they aren't felt on the outside!)

All stuffed.

Sew the opening shut using coordinating thread.  Don't worry about it looking perfect- you will cover this part with laces!

Now, get some embroidery thread (I used off-white for a vintage feel).  Use all 6 strands and double them over so its nice and thick.  Sew the end parts and a couple of criss cross parts!  Then hide your knot at the end.

And that's it!  You're done!  Mine took about 20 minutes from start to finish, including taking photos.  So if you wanted to make one for each kid coming to your Super Bowl Party, you just might have time to whip through these this week!  It would make a great gift any time of the year for a little one- including girls.  I am thinking of making LJ a pink one- she would love that!  You could also do this as a doggie toy as long as your pet doesn't chew things up- the stuffing or fabric could be a major doggie choking hazard if they do!

In other Football Related Crafting, have you seen Little Becky Homecky's football beanie hat?  It is adorable!  Go check it out!!!

Remember to join me all week as I post something every day Super Bowl Related!

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